Cleanup continues after EF2 tornado devastates Detroit Lakes area

Wednesday was another day of picking up the pieces after an EF2 tornado touched down Monday night in the area of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, injuring at least three people.

Roofs were ripped off and debris was strewn all over yards and in local bodies of water. Many docks were still a mangled mess on Floyd Lake due to winds that reached up to 115 mph. Dozens of trees were also snapped in half. 

It remains early in the process of recovery. Chainsaws were still revving in some backyards on the lake's east side as workers and homeowners worked to get tree debris out so that they could get repairs going on the structures that had taken heavy damage.  

Things weren't much better out on the water, which looked like a floating minefield. Todd Simpson and other community members are out to help recover or otherwise remove everything from boats, docks and even tackle boxes. 

Simpson says he's been in this kind of business for more than three decades, and says this tornado was different. He says objects weren't just moved around — they were ripped apart.

"Normally we haul stuff out and it gets flipped over, upside down, whatever, and we flip it up and it has a bend here and a bend there," Simpson said. "The stuff we're hauling out of here is just, it's like shredded, you know. They got hit pretty hard."

Residents say the aftermath has been heartbreaking for them as parts of their community are now unrecognizable.